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Mama bear, 3 little ones spotted in San Dimas

by KPCC Wire Services

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A black bear and her three cubs paid a nighttime visit to a San Dimas neighborhood, where some residents expressed surprise and concern.

"It was an awesome sight, but they say mommy bears with kids can be dangerous," said Greg Tober, who lives on the road where the bears were spotted about 9 last night.

"The cubs, they're little things, maybe a foot long," he told a local wire service. "But we're very concerned. You go out your back door and you look up and guess what – there's a bear."

The sow and her cubs made two passes along the 1800 block of Fernridge Drive in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Several watersheds feed into the neighborhood north of the Foothill (210) Freeway and open to the Angeles National Forest.

At one point, the mother bear lunged at a cat. Sheriff's deputies called for animal control officers, but the bear was gone before they showed up, an RMG News video crew reported.

One resident said he recognized the bear from previous visits. A sheriff's deputy told RMG News that the bears have learned which day is trash day and raid receptacles left at the curb.

Tober has lived on Fernridge since 1984. He said he had seen deer and mountain lion before, but he didn't start seeing bears until last spring.

"It is mind-boggling how fast they can move when they want to," said Tober. "They can cover ground and be up and over in a fence in seconds.

"At this point I don't know what to do," Tober said. "Fish and Game have good intentions but they don't do anything. Somebody needs to come around with the beanbag guns. Send a message."